Interview with David Robinson, Director of Bangkok River Partners and Co-founder of the Creative District

David Robinson is the Director of Bangkok River Partners, an organization that is working towards reviving the Chao Phraya River districts and promoting them as spots for leisure and tourism. He is also the co-founder of the Creative District in Bangkok, an up-and-coming artistic hub in the Klongsan-Bangrak district.

Backpackers in Thailand’s notorious Khaosan Road speak about whether it’s fair for foreign tourists to pay a lot more than local ones

The recent headline involving the Krabi national park’s refusal to reduce the entrance fees for foreign tourists which is 400 baht compared to locals who only have to pay 40 Baht, despite pressure from boat operators has resulted in the latter staging a blockade.

Tourist pricing is a very real phenomenon in many tourist destinations, not only in Thailand but all over the world.

Thailawforum took this opportunity to walk the streets of Khaosan Road to ask tourists their opinion on tourist pricing.

On Valentine’s Day this year, Greenpeace Southeast Asia held a waste to art exhibition as a means of bringing awareness to the impact of plastic waste on Thailand’s beaches. Waste was collected from five beaches in Thailand and transformed into an art exhibit.

Thailawforum’s Georgina Donn went down to the BACC where the event was held. Watch the video for an insight into the event.

An Illinois court ruled in favor of a Thai woman recognising an American as her child’s father

An Illinois Court has ordered a man to pay child support in Thailand to triplets he had fathered through assisted conception methods.

Justice Lampkin of the Circuit Court of Cook County ruled in accordance with a judgment order from Thailand recognizing Harlow to be the biological father of triplets conceived by gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) and imposed child support obligations on him.

The mother, Wipaporn T. petitioned the Circuit Court of Cook County to recognize and enroll the Thai judgment under the principles of comity.

Harlow tried to get the petition dismissed under claims that it contradicted an Illinois Parentage law that does not recognize sperm donors as fathers. However, Harlow had signed the consent form for the transfer under “husband”. Wipaporn also submitted photographs showing Harlow and herself participating in a traditional Thai marriage.

The Illinois court ruled that since Harlow had acted like the father prior to conception and had “plans to claim the three boys as dependents, take tax deductions for his support payments to them and enable them to access their rights of U.S. citizenship,” he must support the three children.

Talking to author of “Marijuana is Medicine that Cures Cancer” Dr. Somyot Kittimunkong

From ThaiLawForum

Marijuana has long been used by cancer patients to help alleviate the painful side effects of chemotherapy. However it has remained a controversial drug due its hallucinogenic properties.

Doctors and scientists around the world are now slowly recognizing the potential use of marijuana in the treatment of cancer with some countries decriminalizing its use for medical purposes and even for recreational ones. In Thailand, marijuana is still illegal and possession of marijuana in Thailand(http://www.chaninatandleeds.com/thailand-drug-offenses.html) is a punishable offence by law. However, many are advocating for its legalization.

Thailawforum talks to Dr. Somyot Kittimunkong, author of “Marijuana is Medicine that Cures Cancer” to get a better insight into how marijuana can be used with regards to cancer and its possible legalization in Thailand.

The recommendation was submitted to the Supreme Court by Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit

In a first of its kind, a recommendation was sent to the Supreme Court by Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit in which he suggests that in cases of child support, not only should the father’s income be considered, but also the mother’s.

In his opinion Mendelblit said, as quoted by Haaretz, “There is room for flexible thinking with regard to the father’s obligation to pay child support in cases of joint custody. In appropriate instances, there is room for considering the incomes of both parents when ruling on child support.”

Under the current Jewish law, the father is fully responsible in providing for his children regardless of whether he and his estranged spouse share joint custody or if she earns more than him.

Head of the Justice Ministry’s Jewish law department Dr. Michael Vigoda also wrote an opinion on the matter saying that the mother’s income should be taken into account when deciding child support for children above the age of 6.

The entire recommendation took place in front of a seven-justice panel on Tuesday.

The Thai ministry of health said that it is considering having pregnant women in Thailand tested for the Zika virus after two detected cases of microcephaly were confirmed in September reports Reuters.

The procedure is said to cost THB2000, but repeat tests are necessary.

Women found to carry the Zika virus give birth to babies that have unusually small heads, a condition called microcephaly.

Zika Virus was first detected in 2007 in a small Island off the coast of the Pacific called Yap. After six years, the virus reappeared in the French Polynesia bringing with it the spread of a rare auto-immune disease that led to paralysis.

Child adoption in Thailand is regulated by the Thai government which has an international department for non-Thai prospective parents.

In 2015, the virus was found in Brazil and the first reported case of microcephaly was brought to doctors.By the end of 2015, “public health officials estimated Zika had infected more than 1 million people in the Americas, and Brazilian doctors were investigating microcephaly in nearly 3,000 babies.”

By September of this year, Zika has been reported in 48 different countries in the Americas and 10 others in the Pacific, Asia and Africa.

Apart from transmission by mosquitoes, sexual transmission has also been reported.

An Adoptees Rights Campaign has made moves towards getting Adoptee Citizenship Act passed by Congress after realizing that a loophole in the U.S immigration law has left adoptees from foreign countries with no citizenship. Some of these adoptees are at risk of being deported out of the country.

The Thai government is looking to reduce penalties on meth and marijuana by the end of this year

The penalties on drugs such as meth and marijuana in Thailand will be reduced by the end of this year, reports Khaosodenglish. This will be accomplished by reclassifying the drugs to a category that allows for them to be licensed for medical purposes.

Drugs that are on the list to be reclassified are meth, marijuana, kratom and hemp. The Director of Narcotics Control Board, Sirinya Sitdichai said that marijuana, kratom and hemp will be reclassified within the next several months and meth will be reclassified in December.

Meth or Ya ba as the locals call it is currently under Category 1 while hemp, kratom and marijuana are under Category 5. Reclassifying the drugs would involve moving the drugs to Category 2 so they will be available for medical use.

How many showers do you need to take in Thailand? With Thailand’s hot weather, you will be sweating to death in the tropical heat! Taking Showers in Thailand more than twice a day is good for health, comfort and image.

If you have ever seen an Asian squat toilet or Thai toilet, you know that Thai culture in regard to bathroom activities is different than in Western countries.

Smelling fresh and looking good is important to Thai people. Making a polite appearance in Thailand consists of being neatly dressed and smelling fresh. If you do smell bad, although Thai people are normally very polite and reserved, there is a chance of having it pointed out to you by people holding their news or whispering that you stink!

If you happen to show up at a friend’s house smelling bad or not feeling fresh, it is not rude at all to ask to use the shower. There is also a good chance that they will offer their bathroom to you. Thailand is filled with a profusion of truly terrible smells. One smell that is noticeably missing is that of body odor.

During the hottest months of the year three showers a day is sometimes a necessity. In the cooler months, so much showering is not needed but for most it is a habit that is hard to break.

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